4 Dec 2013

Babyliss curl secret styler review

In my somewhat misjudged but nevertheless enthusiastic quest for 'Kardashian' hair, I like to dabble with a hair appliance or two...

In the summer when the Babyliss Pro Curl was first revealed I was quite literally giddy with excitement. Someone had tweeted a link to a YouTube video showing the most amazing contraption in action - it looked incredibly easy to use and made gorgeous, sleek, bouncy curls. Obviously I couldn't wait to give it a go, but this was a professional tool costing £200 or more, so it was unlikely to happen.

Fast forward a few months and those clever people at Babyliss launched an 'at home' or 'consumer' version - the Babyliss curl secret. Very much the same but with a few less options and settings I think. The price point was more affordable, although it's still a considered purchase at £120, I had to give it a try.

I watched a couple of the official curl secret videos to make sure I understood the correct method - it's very simple and virtually foolproof. One of my favourite features is that it's very clearly marked as to which way around you hold the tool, and you don't have to think about what's the right way for the opposite side of your head. Call me uncoordinated but this always stumps me when I use a curling tong or wand. The curl secret alternates between clockwise and anti-clockwise for each curl you create, and this gives a more natural look to the finished style.

On my first curl I was a little anxious - my hair is rather long so I was watching it being sucked into the chamber wondering if it would come out again. The curl secret beeps so that you know it's working and then after a few seconds makes a different beep when it's done so that you know when to release your hair. After being brave on my first try and waiting for the long beep, a rather perfect curl popped out - quite loose - not an awful dolly ringlet - just right. So I set about curling the rest of my hair.

I have quite a lot of hair, so I was impressed with how quickly I'd managed to do my whole head - about 20 minutes. I'm somewhat challenged when it comes to hairstyling and it can take me about an hour to curl my hair with tongs or ghds, so I was totally impressed. I was also impressed by how lovely and uniform the curls looked - ignore the bad lighting - it was dark. It really is a foolproof hair appliance.

The issue for me - and this makes me so sad - is that the curls just didn't hold for long. My hair is notorious for not holding a curl and this tends to happen to me with any method regardless of efforts with hairspray / mousse / etc. I've found the longest lasting curls I can achieve on my hair come from ghds, so although it takes me an hour and a lot of frustration, at least I still have something to show for my efforts a few hours later!

Don't be put off trying the curl secret - I think it's amazing and totally worth the money - you just need to have more 'normal' hair that holds curls better that mine :(

4 comments

I would love to try this but unfortunately at the moment £120 is completely out of my price range for something like this. I love having curly hair but when it was half way down my back it took forever to do and now it's shoulder length I really struggle with not burning my neck/head, so this would probably be perfect for me x

Awww, I'm sorry that it doesn't make your curls last very long, because the result is so beautiful. I have this problem, too; I've found that the only thing that works relatively well enough is the Jose Eber Clipless Curling Wand. It's definitely a bit more time-consuming than the Babyliss, but you do get much longer lasting curls with it. :-)